State Senate approves bill to name Derry bridge after fallen Marine

By HUNTER McGEEUnion Leader Correspondent

DERRY — A bill to name a bridge on West Broadway after a fallen Marine and Pinkerton Academy graduate is one step closer to becoming law.

The bill that would name the bridge in honor of Lance Corporal Michael Geary passed the state Senate on Thursday. House Bill 1389 received unanimous approval from the senators, said State Rep. Al Baldasaro, R-Londonderry, who attended the vote on the bill.

.Baldasaro, the prime sponsor of the bill, said Geary’s family members were in attendance and were moved by the Senate’s action.

“It’s awesome because the Marine’s name will live on forever,” Baldasaro said...The bill was previously approved by the House and now just needs the governor’s signature before it would become law.

Derry councilors voted unanimously in September to name the bridge, just west of the Marion Gerrish Community Center on state Route 102, for Geary. Baldasaro began the process in the legislature to have the bridge named after Geary by submitting the bill last year.

While on patrol in Helmand province, Afghanistan, Geary was killed in combat on Dec. 8, 2010. Geary was a member of the 2nd Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, based at Camp Lejeune, N.C. Geary grew up in Derry and graduated from Pinkerton Academy in 2009.

Since the town doesn’t have any covered bridges, the bridge, which spans Shields Brook at Route 102, was a good choice to be named for Geary, Councilor Phyllis Katsakiores said...The Veterans of Foreign Wars has offered to cover the cost of two signs for the project, and the Derry Department of Public Works will install them...